Snoop Dogg on Cardiff's best chippies, Gareth Bale and the world's largest swede

Conspiracy theorists may claim Snoop Dogg's sudden interest in all things Cardiff is a desperate attempts to sell tickets for his forthcoming arena show - but to be fair to the rapper, he's done his homework.

Conspiracy theorists may claim Snoop Dogg's sudden interest in all things Cardiff is a desperate attempts to sell tickets for his forthcoming arena show - but to be fair to the rapper, he's done his homework.

Videos of Snoop dressed in a Cardiff City shirt have been appearing on YouTube for several weeks now.

But with little more than a week to go until the Drop It Like It's Hot star plays the Welsh capital's Motorpoint Arena, he's raised the bar in the last day or so.

Snoop started by asking his 4,400,000 followers to recommend some restaurants in Cardiff.

"I want 2 know about the best fried chicken in chip alley," he tweeted first, before then inquiring of food blog site Cardiff Bites where he could buy waffles in the Welsh capital.

Snoop Dogg has his say on Twitter and YouTube

"Yo @Cardiffbites I heard you got tha best taste in #Cardiff….where can I get some waffles?" he asked.

Then, taking up his knowledge of city landmarks up a notch, he asked his followers: "Wheres d best fish n chips n #cardiff? at albany fish bar or the codfather ?!"

Then, having gained dozens of recommendations about where to eat on his forthcoming visit, Snoop set about posting a series of video clips paying tributes to a series of Welsh figures - from the famous to the obscure.

Among the subjects of his videos - all filmed with Snoop Dogg wearing a blue Cardiff City shirt - were footballers Ryan Giggs ("Shout out to Ryan Giggs, 20 years in the game, I want you to come to my show so we can celebrate") and Gareth Bale ("Shout out to Gareth Bale, player of the year last year - I want to let y'all know, I've been player of the year many times").

Snoop's subjects then became a touch more obscure, turning to Olympic sailing hopeful Hannah Mills ("Just made it to the Olympics, what an achievement - I want you to go out there, break a record and win a gold medal").

"Shout out to my homeboy Ian Neale in Cardiff for breaking the world record for the biggest vegetable," said Snoop, to the backdrop of giant image of cannabis plants.

"I want to tell you something - when I do my show in Cardiff I want you to come backstage and see me, because I do vegetation myself, and I want to know your secret, so I can show you my vegetables, and see if you can grow that into a real big vegetable."